Alessandro Machi

Just saw this topic. Thanks for sharing.

This is Super-8mm we are talking about, so a workable wet gate system that takes out any scratches can still be a significant improvement since any abrasion is enlarged considerably more than if it occurred on 16mm or 35mm. I recall Film and Video Transfers has offered wet gate in the past. I do not know if they still offer it however. Films just processed and then transferred immediately probably don't need wet gate, films that are unspooled over viewed on a viewer might benefit from wet gate. After determining how used or unused the Super-8 film is for purposes of wet gating, another consideration is how many splices are within the footage. If we are talking about a splice every 50 feet, then wet gate is an intriguing option to have. If a person has an already edited film with many tape splices or even cement splices than wet gate becomes a less desirable option. And on a side note, make sure you have Super-8 reels with a bigger hub as that tends to provide a smoother transport than using 50 foot reels.

Did anyone end up submitting a video entry?

Tongal is a community that primarily caters to the advertising industry by using social media to allow registered users to come up with the next great idea or production. Tongal has both a production category and an Ideation category. It is free to join and the prizes on the production side are usually into the thousands of dollars. On the Ideation side, not as much prize money but there is some money and prestige in having your idea selected as a winner as there are usually 500 to a 1,000 entries on the ideation side. Anyways, for those of you who use ARRI cameras, check out the Tongal / ARRI Contest, you could win an incredible prize package and there are multiple prizes. Since the pitch phase has already passed, you can still enter as a wildcard which basically means you read the rules and see if you have already worked on a production that would fit well with the goals of the contest. I could see a few members from this forum being among the winners, The contest closes Nov. 3, 2017 at Noon, so there is time to submit an entry.

This place sells still film type stuff, maybe call them and see if they can point you to a place in Montreal. http://www.lozeau.com/ B & H photo in New York is really good at shipping stuff same day out as ordered. It's too late for today which is a shame because you probably could get competitive 2 day shipping rates. Spectra Film and Video in North Hollywood might be able to get it out today if you call now. 1-818-762-4545

It's always good to have a piece of film with the same type of sound on it as your present film that you KNOW is not distorted, and see how that sounds. If the previously played back piece of sample 16mm sounds ok now, then maybe there is problem with your film. If the sound is distorted on the sample piece of film that you know from prior projection has normal sound, then you probably have a projection issue or downstream audio amplification issue. If the projector has a headphone jack by all means check that out and also check where the volume dial is set to and slowly move it around and evaluate.

what about zooming in so the gel goes out of focus, does that minimize the overall affect in the area of sharpness and color correction?

Could you explain if this was a project for a band or something you did on your own?

Two things to consider. Some really cheap productions know to its important to do solid crafts services and meals and will go out of their way to tell you. What would be interesting to do would be to look back on "free projects" from the past few years and see if anything became of those projects.

Here's the actual quote from the second link I posted above...."But I also shot a whole lot of Super 8 film that's all over the film. I have a Nizo camera with a Zeiss lens that I adore. Lots of DIG! & "Join Us" were shot with that camera as well. I felt it was the perfect textured look for BRAND: A Second Coming, so I shot more Super 8 on this film than ever before. Russell liked the look of it too and always gave me a little more when I was shooting it too." - Ondi Timoner

Just found this link that confirms the Russell Brand Documentary had a significant amount of super-8 footage shot with a Nizo Super-8 camera and Zeiss lens.

Here is a link in which the camera listed for the Russell Brand documentary is a Nizo. Was this seven year documentary shot on Super-8mm film?

ABC is updating their program and it is airing right now on the west coast (10PM, channel 7). Now that the court verdict is in they were able to get access to more video and perhaps more information.

One of the more current scenarios being presented is that Mr. Plitt tripped. That he had timed when he would veer off or near the tracks but tripped instead. This would make sense because if the train had slowed down and Plitt was sprinting at around 18 mph, the speed differential would not be as great and given him more time. Any train experts here? I am curious if all trains are required to slow down when they go through a train stop even if they are not planning on loading or unloading passengers.

It is possible. But as time goes on maintenance will become more difficult so the value will be in owning a couple of identical cameras so that parts and boards can be swapped out as necessary. Not sure if that raises or lowers the value of the cameras however. The other issue that people may come to appreciate is that the features built into film cameras are what they are and don't get changed whereas in Digital the next generation of camera usually means some features are improved, but others are taken away and the camera person has no choice in the matter.

I'm glad the grip section is doing the heavy lifting in regards to safety discussions. With the explosion of cameras and venues for the camera work to be seen, it just seems like a safety forum is needed for areas of production. In the situation regarding Mr. Plitt, I assume his back was to the train and nobody was watching his back. These types of shoots are proliferating and if these types of productions at least understood that they don't understand the intricacies, they might actually hire extra people to make sure their shoots are at the very least, safe.

Not to jump to conclusions but if the camera guys were nearby when Greg Plitt was killed by a train, what were they thinking? Maybe a safety forum on Cinematography would help prevent this type of tragedy in the future. Here is a video link. http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/Greg-Plitt-Hit-By-Train-Video-Tracks-Memorial-288990431.html

Since the time your canon 814 was originally made, how many video cameras have you purchased, paid for editing time, and so on? Isn't it possible that since your canon 814 was originally made that you have spent anywhere from 5,000 to 50,000 dollars on an ongoing supply of new and improved digital video cameras? Throwing the older one away for a new and improved version? In that context, you spend a few hundred bucks, (and remember you got the camera for practically free) to see if what you did excites you or not. Wedding videographers routinely sell home movie packages in which super-8 film is used. The amazing thing is the film can be made to look like it is 40 years old (transfer quality wise) or made to look pristine, amazing, and contemporary. You could just have easily made this topic about marveling that you can use 2014 digital technology to make your 45 year old super-8 film camera look different from digital video, yet remarkable.

How is it possible to have the weight counterbalanced so that in both the high or low position the grip is not needed? I agree the grip should not have to put too much force to keep it from moving up or down too quickly, but a grip is back further than the the counter weights and a person weighing 150 pounds or more is still a significant amount of counterforce back there.

The crazy part for me is with all that was done incorrectly, apparently those still on the bridge had found a spot alongside the tracks on the bridge to miss the train as it went by, but the bed on the tracks exploded on impact and bed shrapnel hit Jones and a couple of others as well, and that shrapnel pushed Jones into the path of the train.

I watched the Sarah Jones piece on 20/20. It was pretty thorough and took the first half of the show. Here is the link, well worth watching. http://abcnews.go.com/2020/video/camera-assistant-killed-midnight-rider-train-accident-26618524

That's what is so tricky about this. If full extension happens before the grip can be completely behind the rig, then the counter force provided by the grip is much less. But then this brings up another question, what percentage of counterweight is the grip at the back responsible for versus using more counterweights as Richard Boddington suggested. Are there actual standards?

wow, that is dramatic! Might the problem have been that the grip at the very back of the dolly could not stay back far enough on the swing around because of the subway tracks? The farther back he can stay the more counter weight he provides. So at the beginning of the shot he has all the counter weight room he needs, but as the dolly moves on the track and he swings around, he can only go back a limited amount so he has less counter weight to offer. That is one complicated math problem to figure out on the set. Was that a rehearsal or an actual take? I am curious if there are prior takes to what we are seeing. If there are prior takes and the dolly did not fall over, than that might mean the tolerance on the back end was so tight that simply anticipating the move of the dolly just a moment too soon versus being a counter weight a moment longer was all it took to cause the dolly to tip over. Plus I noticed the track was elevated with wedges and that could have had an affect as well on a swing around.

20/20 is doing a segment on this story right now, Halloween night, 10pm, ABC.

Matt, Spectra Film and Video pretty much offers everything that Pro-8mm offers. Did Pro-8mm get an exclusive on the cameras, because that would be lame if they did. However, anyone can buy a camera and then rent it out, no? including Spectra Film and Video?